Telegraphy evolved from other forms of distance communication, such as smoke and flag signaling. Like other antiquated forms of message delivery, telegraphy requires that both parties know a specific coded language. Improving upon the optical telegraph systems created in Europe, early, basic forms of the electrical telegraph were developed around 1809. The most widely used telegraph was developed by Samuel Morse in 1837. The system used the Morse code signaling alphabet, developed by Morse and his assistant.
Mimeographs are the fallen ancestor of today’s copy machines. The first mimeograph was patented by non-other than Thomas Edison in 1870. These became especially popular in the 1960s because they were capable of making many copies and relatively low costs. The machine used a stencil, often made by using a typewriter to imprint the message on a piece of wax-covered paper. The stencil was attached to the machine and the image was transferred in ink onto a black sheet of paper inserted into the machine.
Alexander Graham Bell patented the first telephone in 1876. The telephone of today holds very little resemblance to that created by Bell. They were considered a luxury for quite a while after their invention, but slowly gained popularity as the technology progressed and the prices dropped. Today, the number of traditional landline phones continues to drop rapidly as more and more people go mobile. Mobile phones are increasing in popularity as they continue to evolve. While the first phones required a third party to connect, today’s offer users access to phone, text messaging, and, in many, access to everything the internet has to offer.
The mimeograph was made obsolete as technologies, such as copy machines and printers, became more widely available. Rather than making a stencil and hand-turning a machine, copies can be made with the press of a button or click of a mouse. With all of the software now available, templates to be copied are more stylized and visually creative than any typewriter could create.